Top 10 moments from Game 4

Have you caught your breath yet? Better yet, are you breathing period?

Just like Game 5 against Denver, last night’s game was the kind of thing you’re going to talk about with friends the rest of your life. It wasn’t just the best Thunder game in history, it was maybe of the all-time playoff games in NBA history.

This tweet to me from @struts10 summed it all up to me: “Just heard a noise from the kids room, my six-year-old was up that whole time watching his Thunder win in 3OT.” Seriously, that says everything to me right there. These moments, we’ll remember. All of it’s just so awesome.

And in a game like that there are about 200 hundred “moments” that are memorable, unbelievable and heartbreaking. As a fan, these are the games that truly put you to the test. The players have the luxury of actually playing. We just have to sit on our hands and watch. It’s excruciating.

In a game that lasted more than four hours, there were twists, turns, ups, downs, big plays, small plays, middle plays and so many crazy moments that you forgot about because they happened in the first quarter and that was so, so long ago. So here are my top 10.

10. KD’s stuffs on Z-Bo.

This one is only No. 10 because it happened in the first half and in this game, who cares what happened in the first half? But it’s too good of a cram to be ignored. Durant pledged to be more aggressive and attack the rim in this game. The proof is in the poster.

9. The review.

With the Thunder leading 107-101 with 1:20 remaining in the first overtime, James Harden made a terrific play on an O.J. Mayo 3, blocking it straight up in the air. Mayo went up for it and smartly threw it off the side of Harden’s head out of bounds. The officials went to review the play and while replay confirmed it was off Harden, what was missed was that Mayo’s right foot was clearly out of bounds before he jumped for the ball, making him ineligible to touch it.

Somehow this was missed on the review and the ball was awarded to the Grizzlies anyway.

8. The Thunder blocks Gasol.

OKC was up four in the third overtime, leading by four with 1:20 left. Memphis badly needed a basket and went to one of their best options — Gasol on the block. He spun once, came back to his strong hand in the lane and looked to have a quality hook shot on the way up. But KD helped down on Gasol, extended his go-go-gadget arms and stuffed it right back into Gasol’s grill.

7. The scramble.

With the game tied at 119-119 with 30 seconds remaining and Memphis in possession, the Grizzlies got a good look inside but Zach Randolph missed a chippy. Then Gasol missed a tip. Then Randolph missed another layup. The ball bounced around, was saved by Nick Collison, then saved again by Nick Collison before finally winding up in Harden’s hands. Describing this wild scramble is just impossible. But it was pretty crazy and in the end, gave the Thunder a chance to win at the end of the second overtime.

6. Westbrook’s step-back.

Previous to that scramble, the Thunder trailed by two and in need of someone to step up. Westbrook, who had 40, got Gasol on him on a switch and deftly pulled off a tough step-back move and drilled a 20-foot jumper to knot the game at 119-119.

5. Harden’s save.

After a big stand in the second overtime, the Thunder just had to secure a rebound. Which was becoming more and more of a problem. The ball hit off a Thunder player and was headed out of bounds and back into the Grizzlies’ hands with 2:18 left and the game tied. Harden somehow controlled his body, leaped far under the basket and skillfully saved it to Nick Collison.

4. Harden’s answer.

The Thunder had their backs to the wall after Greivis Vasquez finished a wild and-1 to put Memphis up three with a minute to go in the second OT. Westbrook attacked the rim, collapsed the entire Memphis defense around him and at the last second as he flew under the backboard, kicked out to an open Harden. With a defender flying at him and the shot clock about to go off, the Harden calmly knocked down a 3 and kept OKC alive.

3. Vasquez does a crazy thing.

To end the first overtime, the Grizzlies needed a miracle down 109-106. And Vasquez delivered. With Westbrook in his face, Vasquez launched an off-balance 3 with nine seconds left and swished it, somehow. A second overtime was forced and the Grizzlies once again, escaped the jaws of defeat for at least five more minutes.

2. Mike Conley, from deep.

So to even have this whole overtime party, it took an impossible 3-pointer from Conley at the end of regulation. Vasquez’s shot was great, but Conley’s was deeper and had Kendrick Perkins right in his face. Memphis was down 96-93 with 13 seconds left. Gasol had just blocked a Westbrook jumper and the Grizzlies race up the floor looking for a shot. Lionel Hollins smartly elected not to call a timeout which would’ve given the Thunder a chance to foul. Conley found some space and floated a high-arching shot over Perkins’ big paw. It dropped and we were off to another hour of basketball.

Conley and Vasquez’s shot were bigger and more improbable, but since the Thunder won and also because it was so very, very pretty, Kevin Durant gets the top spot with his shake-and-pop over Shane Battier to ice the game. OKC was up six with 30 seconds left and with the way the Thunder were having trouble closing Memphis, this wasn’t over. But Durant ended all worries with a nasty jumper over Battier. Just lovely.

Daniel Plainview :Perhaps another reason for RW to be angry: The People voted Rudy Fernandez ahead of him for the dunk contest.

Angry is good. RW should get angry. We play best with a chip on our shoulder. Casting yourself as the unappreciated victim, much like the aforementioned "stroking the Chicago market," can be good for business. That's how we roll. Thunder Up!

AC :I personally don’t understand the Rose has no help argument. Boozer, Deng, and Korver have all been reasonably prolific and/or efficient scorers in the past. Noah isn’t horrible offensively either (top third of starting centers in the league in offense).

Isn't our team basically 2-3 scorers surrounded by defenders and role players? I would say Rose has more "helpers" offensively than RW does. Perhaps Perk/Sef/Ibaka have more offensive game than I'm aware of.

AC :I personally don’t understand the Rose has no help argument. Boozer, Deng, and Korver have all been reasonably prolific and/or efficient scorers in the past. Noah isn’t horrible offensively either (top third of starting centers in the league in offense).

Exactly. Praises be to Rose for the wins that team did make despite the injuries, but even over the reg season he averaged less than 20 shots a game. Now with a healthy line up, weve seen an uptick to 24 a game. Thats a a glaring correlation that seems to evade the discussion. Loe Rose, Love Westbrook!

Previous posters have mentioned that they hope RW gets a great ovation for our home game tonight. i couldnt agree more. I hope he gets a huge, deafening roar. I thought his mistakes were few last game, and he was AMAZING

I personally don't understand the Rose has no help argument. Boozer, Deng, and Korver have all been reasonably prolific and/or efficient scorers in the past. Noah isn't horrible offensively either (top third of starting centers in the league in offense).

Its just unfortunate that the homersim for Rose is so deep that it turns into vicious attacks against Rose. Neither player are responsible for this. A head to head match up for potentially 7 games could be other worldly

I will agree with this, but I'm not entirely sold. I still would like to hear defensive assesments of both players by people who know their stuff. Would Rose have the same issues as RW if he played on the same team as KD? Would RW develop similarly to Rose if he was the main man on his team for 3 years? I think they have much in common, but people are keenly focused on the differences (which i think are mostly situational)

I admit, Rose gets the nod over Westbrook. He has more control and is just more comfortable playing the PG than Russ is. Hes been doing it for MUCH longer and at a much higher level. I remember hearing about Rose when he was like a sophomore or something. RW was barely recruited. He claims that he couldnt dunk until his senir year. Jeff Teague says Rose could Dunk in 8th grade. Rw's father said Russ was the most uncoordinated player on the team his freshman year. I believe his ceiling is that of Rose's, once he matures, and maybe were still a year or two away from that. Both are superior athletes to Paul, but neither have his BBIQ. If we meet in the finals, it will be epic. Finally that word is used with a modicum of accuracy.

Wilbon is a C*unt (see below). Not only is he Kool-aid Maker In Chief for Rose, he is at the forefront of this very juvenile angle of trying to prove how much better Rose is then Westbrook. When he draws the comparison of other PG's who take 30+ shots, he claims to pick one "out of thin air," i.e., Westbrook. Since there are only two now in the league that will do that, his attempt at keeping his hands cleans is a very conspicuous poke. God I want to play them in the finals now. (previously wanted teh Heat.) I make it clear hear that this is Wilbons fault, not Rose's. Rose is a cool dude and an amazing player, but the lengths some writers take to pan RW and exalt Rose seems more born from fear that RW is much closer to Rose than his minions would ever like to believe, and really, cant even imagine. I think its a product of the ye ole Shakespeare Axiom, "methinks the lady doth protest too much."

Wilbon:It's an easier fix for the Bulls than with most guys who would take 32 shots in a game, say, Russell Westbrook, just to pick a name out of thin air. Everything about Westbrook's play recently -- and much of it is spectacular and some of it is damn effective -- is self-indulgent, considering he plays alongside one of the five best players in the game in Kevin Durant. Rose, on the other hand, not only doesn't have a Durant but he understands that lack of balance will not help the Bulls beat elite teams.

Wilbon, Boozer has 2 20 ppg years to his credit and Deng has a 19, and Noah with 12. His options are much more vast than just KD who is being double teamed, and in overtime the other night, KD went pylon. You need to straighten your act out stooge, and like Justin reco'ed, see Prutis analysis

justin :@Mark!Maybe I’m naive, but I never really thought Westbrook is over aggressive due to his wanting to ‘be the man’. It bothers me that this angle is played up so much in the media. He gets compared to players like Marbury, Arenas, etc. but I don’t think that’s Westbrook’s mindset at all.

Totally agree.

I think Russ is a shy guy who had to be coached to have more confidence in his offensive game and to be/stay aggressive. He had to develop his "why not" attitude. I think now it's a matter of bettering his judgement and learning when and where to "turn it on" (go hero). Like everything else, I like to feel he's improving there too. He hasn't shown me any reason to doubt him (except for one game in which he had a bit of an emotional meltdown).

I'd bet his head is on straight in comparison to those you mentioned. It's just a matter of continued improvement.

Anyone remember RW's rookie year? He's come a long way and is still improving. Even Earl Watson once had a viable argument that he should be starting over RW.

We can't treat 22-yr-old men with solid work ethics as finished products.

I think the negative comes primarily from outsiders who have never really watched OKC play, and are just now realizing that RW is not the perfect player. He still has MUCH room to improve, and his game needs that improvement. There's nothing wrong with that.

As much as people are crying, you'd think they forgot we won 55 games (most with Green and Kristic starting)

okc baby :Its obvious that Westbrook hears what people say. He s not naive. Who cares what people think. Take it with a grain of salt. Seriously if you couldnt tell the difference in Game 3 Russ to Game 4 Russ. Hes listening.

Do you think the players check the message boards for advice? Do you think they care what a bunch of non-basketballers who fancy themselves as GMs think about the game they've mastered?

What are your credentials beyond having an internet connection? I really want to know, but I'm sure you won't answer with much more than an insult and a revealing "hahahahahahahahahahaha."

I agree, that the Thunder will be taking a step forward offensively, next year with Serge's rapid improvement, and hopefully James Harden being in the starting lineup.

I honestly think that Westbrook will continue to grow and evolve, and has the potential to turn into a 20-10-5 guy. If he does so, with Harden averaging 15 and Ibaka a 12/10/3+blocks this will be an impossible starting unit to guard. They're all young, they are gymrats, its going to happen. Next year is the year we are supposed to be looking at No1 seeds and NBA finals. This is a step forward, we are seeing Playoff growing pains. That's good!

dream catcher :Ideally Id like to see Harden at around 24% usage mainly because he has the smarts and the ability to know when to make the pass and know when to shoot. Westbrook probably around 27-28%, the reason he is higher is cause he is better at creating his own shot. Durant needs to get stronger so he can post up more and add that dimension to our offense.I really feel like we have a ton of room for improvement on offense.

That usage split might be something they get to or would be wise to get to in a year or two depending on Harden's progress.

Justin used the term as well in another thread today, applying it perhaps to more critics.

Both may have found it more moronic for such criticism to occur related to this particular game and I've noted that the criticism might not have been as valid in this game several times now but I am not a fan of using the word moron in general or for the critique of the general critique of Westbrook's high usage. The word is not that big deal but I disagreed with it some and any effort to discredit the general concern as being a valid or at least reasonable point of view among several or further to try to silence it will name-calling so I mentioned the uses of moron and made the best argument I could on the facts in response. FWIW.

Its obvious that Westbrook hears what people say. He s not naive. Who cares what people think. Take it with a grain of salt. Seriously if you couldnt tell the difference in Game 3 Russ to Game 4 Russ. Hes listening.

Ideally Id like to see Harden at around 24% usage mainly because he has the smarts and the ability to know when to make the pass and know when to shoot. Westbrook probably around 27-28%, the reason he is higher is cause he is better at creating his own shot. Durant needs to get stronger so he can post up more and add that dimension to our offense.

There might be over-analysis of Westbrook's usage and excessive backlash to the analysis but more is on the table with more evidence behind both sides than there was say 2 months ago. Overall I think that is perhaps a net good but it comes down to how you hear and use the discussion.

I'd think it fair to say that all 3 playoff opponents this year and last made stopping Durant first priority because they felt that was the smarter strategy and they didn't think Westbrook as lead would beat them.

So far it is one series (last season) where Durant shot more but poorly and Russ scored well but they lost and one where Westbrook shot more but not well and Durant shot well and the team did very well. The outcome of this series won't settle the question about division of usage but it may be of some significance which way it goes.

Anyway, it's all speculation. I don't think the stats bare out the truth of the situation, they're symptomatic not causal IMO.

Some people watch and see someone trying to be "the man."

I watch and see Durant being manhandled and Westbrook being forced to choose between calling his own number, hitting an open Thabo or trying to create something between himself, Ibaka or Perkins in an already crowded paint.

Westbrook/Harden has a lot of potential and we got to see flashes of that last night. Dunno why they don't play better together, but I imagine it has a lot to do w/ experience. They don't have many minutes playing together, especially prior to the playoffs. I've heard that they play on different units in practice as well, but haven't seen that printed somewhere official. Seems feasible to me.

I'm not building a case that Westbrook is perfect and it's all coaching. Westbrook has development too, I'm just more optimistic about it than you seem to be. That's all :)

Next year, when Harden is inserted into the starting lineup, and Ibaka's offensive game takes another stride, I FULLY expect a more diversified offensive attack. And yes, that entails a few less shots from Russ, but I don't think he'll have a problem ceding those if we are winning.

Russ gets overzealous, at times, because he feels like he has to. And when you're on the court with Thabo and Perk, or Ibaka/Harden being timid, or Durant not being freed up, I can't blame the guy a bit.

The fact that so many people are on the 'hate Russ bandwagon', is making me like him more than ever. He doesn't give a shit what people say or think, he's gonna play his game.

I hope he'll "get it" and the usage goes down eventually, perhaps when 1 or more spots in the rotation change in player staffing or role successfully given to it. Will Westbrook go back to under 30% usage and will he do it before of after getting a near max or full max deal? Time will tell.

His usage is not that important on its own, the team Offensive Efficiency is far more important. If the team Offensive Efficiency remains high it is not a problem, but unless the Defensive Efficiency gets better the current Offensive Efficiency may not be good enough to go as far as desired or as far as might be possible with a lower Westbrook usage.

A comparison of regular season team results with Westbrook taking more shots than Durant showed the team winning about as much as when he didn't have more shots but that was regular season and that was when his Offensive Rating was 110 and not 105.

There are two or more sides to the discussion. I am just making what I can for one part of the discussion.

I think this line of thought is interesting, because last season most were impressed with Westbrook's floor game development. Westbrook seemed fine last year and the year before (and in the playoffs last season) at around 25-26 USG which is probably where a player of his talents should be. Has anything changed with his floor game? Not really. His assist rate has gone up slightly, and his ORTG has increased by five points over last season. The increased USG is alarming, yes, but he's increased his scoring efficiency and shooting efficiency while doing so which is always an impressive feat.

The distribution of possessions and valuing of possessions is a problem for this team, and it's no secret. But I feel the over-analysis on this point has distracted some from the improvements that Westbrook and the team has made over the course of the year. Considering Westbrook's development path to this point, I'm not overly concerned about his usage yet, just like I was not concerned last season over his low scoring efficiency. I'm way more concerned about the coaching and offensive development as a team. This seems like a way bigger issue to me. From my observations, I'd attribute Westbrook's high usage and suspect decision making more to poor lineup construction and gameplan than his desire to shoot 20+ times a game.

I think Westbrook is over aggressive due to his wanting to ‘be the man’ is a significant part of how we got here. I don't think he waits for or wants a plan B as much or as often as some others feel he does or as much as most very successful PGs do.

Having a #1 option covered and covered closely by design and effort of the defense is not unusual. The best PGs and offense figure out how to beat that more often and / or use the possession themselves at a higher efficiency.

I cited Westbrook's raw +/- per minute rather than cumulative as cumulative would give him a healthy advantage over most others given his second highest minutes. Per minute his raw +/- was 3rd best. His Adjusted +/- is estimated at 5th best.

Maybe I'm naive, but I never really thought Westbrook is over aggressive due to his wanting to 'be the man'. It bothers me that this angle is played up so much in the media. He gets compared to players like Marbury, Arenas, etc. but I don't think that's Westbrook's mindset at all.

I'm generally optimistic about Westbrook, what he's capable of, and how he can mesh w/ Durant. I don't think Westbrook's USG% or FGA are indicative of a problem w/ him but a problem w/ our offensive gameplan.

IMO, the problem w/ Westbrook is he doesn't have a good feel for when to get his teammates involved again after he puts the team on his back for a stretch. We often need him to go "hero" mode when he does, so its sad to see that part of his game criticized so heavily. The problem comes once he's created the positive momentum for our team, he doesn't always have a sense of when to cede that momentum over to his teammates and sometimes he'll shoot us right back out of it.

He'll get there. He's an amazing talent. I think his USG% should be lower, I think his FGA should be lower, but I don't think those are the results of him being a willful ego-maniac. Our system blows. Just IMO.